الحمد لله وحده، والصلوٰة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده۔
All praise is for Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no Prophet.
Supplicating at graves and considering them to be places where supplications are accepted is among the clear acts of shirk and innovations. Supplication itself is an act of worship, and worship is exclusively for Allah alone.
Allah Almighty says in the Qur’an:
﴿وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ﴾
Translation:
“And your Lord said: ‘Call upon Me; I will respond to you. Indeed, those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter Hell humiliated.’”
However, some grave-venerating Sufis claim regarding the grave of Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi that supplications are accepted there. This statement is attributed from Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’ of Hafiz al-Dhahabi رحمه الله.
❖ The Reality of This Statement
They quote the following wording:
«وعن إبراهيم الحربي، قال: قبر معروف الترياق المجرب.»
— الذهبي، سير أعلام النبلاء (9/343)
Translation:
Ibrahim al-Harbi said: “The grave of Ma‘ruf is a tried and tested antidote.”
① Response: صيغة تمريض (Expression of Weak Attribution)
Hafiz al-Dhahabi رحمه الله quoted this statement in a suspended form using an expression indicating weakness (ṣīghat tamrīḍ), which implies that the report is not established and is weak.
According to the principles of the science of Hadith terminology, when a report is mentioned with expressions such as: يُذكر (it is mentioned), يُروى (it is narrated), قيل (it is said), it indicates weakness.
② Response: Al-Dhahabi’s Own Refutation
Immediately after mentioning this statement, Hafiz al-Dhahabi clarified and refuted this superstition, writing:
«بل دعاء المضطر مجاب في أي مكان اتفق.»
— الذهبي، سير أعلام النبلاء (9/344)
Translation:
“Rather, the supplication of the distressed person is answered wherever he may be.”
📌 This clearly shows that the acceptance of supplication is not dependent upon any grave. Rather, Allah answers the supplication of the distressed wherever he may be.
③ The Original Source and Chain of Transmission
Al-Dhahabi quoted this report from Tarikh Baghdad, whose chain is as follows:
«أخبرنا إسماعيل بن أحمد الحيري، قال: أخبرنا محمد بن الحسين السلمي، قال: سمعت أبا الحسن بن مقسم، يقول: سمعت أبا علي الصفار، يقول: سمعت إبراهيم الحربي، يقول: قبر معروف الترياق المجرب.»
— الخطيب البغدادي، تاريخ بغداد (1/122)
Translation:
Isma‘il ibn Ahmad al-Hiri informed us, he said: Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Sulami informed us, he said: I heard Abu al-Hasan ibn Muqsim saying, I heard Abu ‘Ali al-Saffar saying, I heard Ibrahim al-Harbi saying: “The grave of Ma‘ruf is a tried and tested antidote.”
📌 The central narrator in this chain is Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Sulami, who was infamous for fabricating narrations for the Sufis.
Jarḥ Upon the Central Narrator: Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami
The central narrator of this report is Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Musa al-Naysaburi, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, who was known for fabricating narrations for the Sufis. The scholars of Hadith strongly criticized him.
① Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (463 AH)
«قال لي محمد بن يوسف القطان: كان أبو عبد الرحمن السلمي غير ثقة، ولم يكن سمع من الأصم إلا شيئاً يسيراً، فلما مات الحاكم حدث عن الأصم بأشياء كثيرة… وكان يضع للصوفية الأحاديث.»
Translation:
Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Qattan said: Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami was not trustworthy (thiqah). He had heard only very little from Abu al-‘Abbas al-Asamm, but after the death of al-Hakim he began narrating many things from him… and he used to fabricate hadiths for the Sufis.
② Hafiz al-Manawi (1031 AH)
«أبو عبد الرحمن السلمي الصوفي… وسبق أن السلمي وضاع.»
Translation:
Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami the Sufi… It has already been mentioned that al-Sulami was a wadda‘ (fabricator of hadiths).
③ Imam Ibn al-Jawzi (597 AH)
«وجاء أبو عبد الرحمن السلمي فصنف للصوفية كتاب السنن وجمع لهم حقائق التفسير فذكر فيه العجب… بلا إسناد، وإنما حمله على مذهبهم.»
Translation:
Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami compiled Kitab al-Sunan for the Sufis and collected their sayings in Haqa’iq al-Tafsir. In it he mentioned strange and astonishing things, without any reliable chain of transmission, solely to promote his own doctrine.
④ Ibn al-‘Ajmi (841 AH)
«محمد بن الحسين أبو عبد الرحمن السلمي… وله أربعون حديثاً في التصوف… فيها موضوعات.»
Translation:
Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Sulami… He narrated forty hadiths on Sufism, among which are fabricated (mawdu‘) hadiths.
⑤ Imam Ibn al-Salah (643 AH)
«… الواحدي المفسر رحمه الله قال: صنف أبو عبد الرحمن السلمي حقائق التفسير، فإن كان قد اعتقد أن ذلك تفسير فقد كفر.»
Translation:
The exegete al-Wahidi said: Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami wrote Haqa’iq al-Tafsir, and if he believed that it is truly tafsir, then he committed disbelief.
⑥ Hafiz al-Dhahabi (748 AH)
«محمد بن الحسين السلمي… تكلموا فيه، وليس بعمدة.»
And he said:
«كان يضع للصوفية الأحاديث.»
Translation:
Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Sulami… The hadith scholars have criticised him, and he was not worthy of reliance. He used to fabricate hadiths for the Sufis.
⑦ Abu Nasr al-Wa’ili al-Bakri (444 AH)
«كان شيخاً عالماً متصوفاً، غير أنه ضعيف الحديث.»
Translation:
He (al-Sulami) was a Sufi shaykh, but he was weak in hadith (da‘if al-hadith).
⑧ Imam al-Suyuti (911 AH)
«أبو عبد الرحمن السلمي… وكان يضع للصوفية الأحاديث.»
Translation:
Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami… used to fabricate hadiths for the Sufis.
📌 From these few references alone it has become clear that this narrator is a kadhdhab (liar), a wadda‘ (fabricator) and matruk (abandoned); the narration he reports is in no way reliable.
⑨ Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (852 AH)
«… ممن يُتهم بالكذب، كأبي عبد الرحمن السلمي…»
Translation:
Among those accused of lying is Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami.
⑩ Mughaltay al-Hanafi (762 AH)
«هذا ضعيف لضعف السلمي.»
Translation:
This narration is weak due to the weakness of al-Sulami.
◈ Summary and Conclusion
The grave-venerators who declare supplication at the grave of Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi to be “mustajab al-da‘awat” (a place where supplications are answered) rely mainly upon a quoted passage from Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’ of Hafiz al-Dhahabi.
✔ Al-Dhahabi mentioned it using an expression indicating weakness.
✔ He immediately refuted it by clarifying that the supplication of the distressed is accepted anywhere, and restricting it to a grave is false.
✔ The original chain in Tarikh Baghdad contains Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami.
✔ According to the unanimous criticism of the hadith scholars:
✔ Al-Sulami was a liar and a fabricator.
✔ He used to fabricate hadiths for the Sufis.
✔ His book Haqa’iq al-Tafsir is filled with esoteric speech and false statements, to the extent that the exegete al-Wahidi said: whoever regards it as tafsir is a disbeliever.
✔ Hafiz al-Dhahabi, Ibn Hajar, Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn al-Salah, al-Manawi, al-Suyuti and other imams declared him abandoned and weak.
Therefore, the claim that supplications are accepted specifically at the grave of Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi is a fabricated report with no authentic or shar‘i basis.
✿ Central Point
Making graves a means of worship by supplicating at them is a clear innovation and shirk.
The narration presented as proof for this practice is a fabrication of the lying Sufi narrator al-Sulami.
